 so much that he would give his life for us. There's nobody greater than our God. Mountain, I looked up. Gracia, love your mercy. To your Gracia, love your mercy. As was read in the scriptures, God gives us promises, right? Hallelujah. He said that his word is forever settled in heaven. Hallelujah. That means that if God said it, it's done, amen. Thank you, Lord. At this time, we'll have our bishop come. Thanks unto the Lord, because he's good, and because his mercy endure, have a relationship. During devotion, God has given us many promises, and his promises never, never, never it's good that the Lord finds love for us, creatures that we are, born in sin, and we were shaping in iniquity. And thank God that he found us when we were lost. He found us. Amen. I want to bring to your attention today the great things happening in the shield of faith. Amen. We're having our mid-winter convention, in January of 2024, on January 11th and the 12th. Amen. And this convention is going to be very helpful to all persons who are part of ministry. You may have a seat, if you like. I might be a few minutes. Now, in the convention time, this is the first time for the mid-winter convention. All right. I'm not going to hold you too long. You all stay in place. The First Lady has pity for you. Now, this is our first mid-winter convention for the Shield of Faith Christian Center and for the Shield of Faith body of believers. And so what we're interested in doing is doing this session of two days, we'll be sharpening our skills. Amen. Everything that we do for the Lord, we should do it with all of our heart, all of our might, all the wisdom we can scrap together. We need to put that together and do that which the Lord has called our hands to do. Scripture said, whatever your hands find to do, do it with all of your might. Well, if you don't know what you're doing, it's kind of hard to put your might in. So there'll be seminars, afternoons, morning sessions, and afternoon sessions. The morning sessions will morning seminars, 10.30 to 12.30, all to empower a room worker training, evangelism and soul-winning training, excellence in worship art, training, issues of church administration, training. Now, I want to stress that word training. We ask you to come. Every member of the church has a duty and a responsibility to the house of God. So I know you want to do the will of God. Somebody has to train you. Scripture says train a child up in the way he should go. And when they're old, they won't depart. So there are many of us who are children, are young members in the body. And for all of those, you need to be trained. All right, so that's the nature of the Midwestern, I'm sorry, the Mid-Winter Convention. So I'm asking each of you who are members of this body of believers, I'm asking you to come and go with us. It may be a sacrifice, but God is worthy of your sacrifice. When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all he's done, I say worthy, worthy, you're worthy of my praise, you're worthy of my time, you're worthy of my effort. I'm going to ask that I'll see each of you at the convention and it's going to be held, what is our address? You have the address? 9592, 7th Street, Rancho Cucamonga. Thank you, thank you. Now, I want to encourage you to please come and worship with us. I used to hear people when I first came to California, I used to hear people say all the way out to Cucamonga. And I didn't know that Cucamonga was such a place. I thought it was like saying out somewhere near East Egypt. But there is a place called Cucamonga, now it is not just Cucamonga, it's Rancho Cucamonga. So we invite you to come and join us at Rancho Cucamonga. The Lord is going to be there. And you'll receive a blessing if you come to the Mid-Winter Convention. Now, without further ado, I'm going to call for the speaker of the hour and he's going to bring us the special music for today. We ask you to incline your heart, incline your ear to hear what the Spirit will say to the church. Receive Elder Ross in Jesus' name. Amen. Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. Just to take Him at His word, just to rest upon His. Just to know the Savior, the Lord. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. He's a precious. I'm so glad I've learned to trust Him. Precious Jesus, He's my Savior and my friend. I give myself. I give myself. I give myself. When I think of the goodness of Jesus, my soul cries out. See, when I think about what God did for somebody ought to be, giving God praise and somebody ought to be shouting and somebody I believe. So I said, I got to praise and I got to let it out. That's it. Old school praise. See, when we praise the Lord, Sister Bobby, we lost stuff. We lost our shoes. We lost our socks. We lost our coat. We lost our wigs. We lost our dentures. And when we got through praising, we had to get some stuff and gather some stuff and find some stuff that passed your wiggle down the aisle. I cannot tell it off. I'm sorry, y'all, I just had to get that out. See, I've been through some stuff last year. He did some miracles for me last year. He opened some doors for me last year. But the blessings of God, Sister Bobby, they have transferred from last year to this year. And he's blessing me right now. I tell you, I'm feeling that. Remember Bishop, when I was younger, I would run all up and down the aisles and shout. They had to carry me to the parking lot. I was still shouting. They said, boy, when is this boy going to shut up and sit down? He's done so much for me. I owe him not just praise, but I owe him my best praise. I owe him everything that I have. See, I'm not too dignified to praise him. Now, I'm not saying I'm stupid or silly, but I'm not too dignified. And Sister Shirley says, hold my mu, I got to get my praise on. Hallelujah to God. We're in January 2024, the beginning of a new year. And it's time to hit the reset button and start over and start fresh. It's time to evaluate what worked last year, what didn't work last year, what changes do I need to make from last year to this year? There's something about us we don't like change. But if we continue to do the same things that we're doing, we will continue to get the same outcome that we're getting. And so the truth is there are some things that I need to change that I have been doing basically all of my life. It wasn't just something that I picked up last year, but there's some changes that I need to make that stem back a long, long time ago. And we need to make a change. You see, sometimes one change will change everything. One change will change everything. See, if I change my perspective to line up with God's perspective, then everything has got to change. Everything has got to line up. Like Pastor Bobby said, if I line up with his, I'm going to be blessed in the city, blessed in the field, blessed going in, blessed coming out. My blessings going to be blessed. My children will be blessed. Everything around me will be blessed if I will line up with the Word of God. Some of us have lived in and were born in a sorry situation. And we've been in our dysfunction for so long, it seems normal to us. In fact, some of us have lived in our sorry situation for so long, we don't even think to ask God to help me get out of the rut that I'm in. Now, it's not always sin, but see, there's some things that you can do that will hold and impede your progress on your way to your blessing. And so this is a new year, and so it's time for us to identify our sorry situations. It's time to ask God to deliver us out of our sorry situation. It's time to expect and believe for changing our life because if you don't expect it, if you don't believe it, nothing is going to happen for you. The Bible said that the just shall live by faith. Our faith is based upon the promises of God. And so we have to move into this new year, this new season, expecting for God to do something brand new in our life. Hey, God for open some doors for us, make some ways for us, take us to another level in Him. I've made up my mind, I'm not going to stay where I am. It's time to move from sadness to gladness, from defeat to victory in the name of Jesus. It's time for what I call a spiritual upgrade. Say upgrade, upgrade. It's time for change in our lives. In other words, it's time for better, whatever better is for you, it's time for better. See, sometimes we settle for okay. But there is good, better, and best. And God wants you to live your best life in Him. You can stay over there and good, and you might move to better. But it takes the spirit of God to elevate us and to take us into our best life in the spirit realm. It's time for an upgrade in Jesus' name. Father, we thank you for this time. We thank you for your word. Go with us, speak to our hearts. Our hearts are open. We thank you that you're a good God, that you allow us space to change and to grow, that you allow us not to stay in the same way that we were when you found us, but you said that I will take you from glory to glory, from strength to strength. And we are moving higher in the name of Jesus. And it's not because of anything we've done. It's because of the name of Jesus. There's power in the name of Jesus. There's deliverance in the name of Jesus. There's breakthrough in the name of Jesus. We have to allow Jesus to take us to another level. In him, the word that the Lord gave me for today was from sadness to gladness, a spiritual upgrade, chronicles four and ten. O that thou would bless me, indeed. Not just a little blessing, but I want a big blessing to sometimes all we have the faith is, Lord, just help me get a sticker, bubblegum. Lord, help me get a stickers. It's time to pray some great, big, crazy prayers. Some big prayers. Lord, bless me and bless me, indeed, so that when the world sees how you bless me, they'll have to say, God did it. There's no other explanation. See, we need some radical change in our life. The text we want to look at, a man by the name of J.B.S. The name J.B.S. means sorrowful or full of sorrow. Also meaning born in pain. Wow. What a name to give a child. J.B.S. J.B.S. mother, she had experienced great pain doing the childbirth experience causing her so much sorrow and so much pain that she named her son J.B.S. or named him sorrowful. Now, the pain that his mother experienced, I don't know whether it was physical, emotional. I don't know if it was because of a divorce or rape. I don't know what it is, but what I do know is she suffered great pain and so she named her son J.B.S. The truth is, is that the name of J.B.S. is showing us that not every man and woman in life, not every man and woman, that their path is smooth. That's not the case. But the beautiful thing about that is God brought some beauty, some beauty out of a difficult, a bad situation. So we learned that even in a bad situation, beautiful things can happen as a butterfly comes out of a cocoon. I don't know if you ever had an opportunity to look at that and study there, but we did when I was in school. I don't know if they do that now, but a cocoon is ugly. It looks like a big peel or seed or something and fuzzy and ugly, but on the inside God is producing a beautiful butterfly. And the thing is I found it interesting as we studied that they said you can't help a butterfly out of an ugly cocoon because if you do you will stop and impede its growth and see when it's struggling to get out it's developing muscles so that eventually it will be able to fly. And if you help a butterfly out of the cocoon chances are it will never fly because it will never develop. And so God sometimes allows us to go through some ugly situations and we want mama to deliver us and daddy to deliver us and my great uncle to deliver us. But if you will stay in the fire it will build some strength in your body. The same is true in the spirit. If you will stay in you will develop some spiritual muscles that you'll be able to fight the devil when you come out. You'll come out of a bad situation beautiful but able to fight for yourself. I come from a big family. You jump with me you got to fight a whole lot of folks but it's the funny thing about my family they say you're going to fight for yourself. If it's an unfair fight we'll jump in but if it's fair fight oh you got to fight for yourself. But God is able to do marvelous things in difficult situations so the problematic beginning of your life story doesn't have to determine the end of your story. And the name that people call you doesn't necessarily mean that's who you are. See when I was growing up some people called me ugly and crazy. They just called me bozo because of my big nose I guess. See but what people call you you don't have to be tied into what they say. Write this down. God determines the end of your life story and God he pronounces who you are. Now the beautiful thing about it he is able to change the narrative. God changed Abraham to Abraham the father of many nations. God changed Jacob my father's name from trickster and supplanner to Israel. I like to say that Israel a prince with God. God changed Saul from a persecutor and killer of the saints his name to Paul the writer of the majority of the New Testament. What I'm saying to you if you will let him if you'll let God he will change you and mold you and make you to suit his own purpose. So the Bible says all of us have sinned come short of the glory of God all of us have sinned and none of us deserve the goodness of God none of us deserve the spiritual upgrade from God none of us can earn the spiritual upgrade for God. We don't have enough money it's only because of the God's grace that he wants to take you to another level. He wants to bless you this is a new day this is a new year this is a new season you should expect for God to take you higher higher he should take you higher he should give you a spiritual upgrade he should change some things and move some things and bless some things it's time for a blessing it's time for a blessing to him the natural the best that we can do if we get on an airplane or maybe we go to a hotel we can ask for an upgrade but it's up to the person in charge to determine whether or not you get an upgrade but in the kingdom of God an upgrade is simply the grace of God he says not that you deserve it not that you found it it's simply because of grace my unmerited favorite if you will that I want to take you to another level I want to bless you in a way that I have never blessed you before I want to take you higher in me and deeper in me and wider in me that I can accomplish what I'm trying to do in you and through you see God wants to bless you but he wants to bless you to be a blessing for you and somebody else see he blesses us to be a blessing to the people that are around us if you look in the bible almost every miracle he never gave the person just enough but he gave them enough in an overflow to be a blessing for somebody else so God is saying it's time it's time it's it's time for an upgrade in your life it's time for you to let me do what I want to do in your life it's time to let me change some things in your life it's time to let me open up some doors in my life in your life it's time for you to believe for an upgrade say upgrade say upgrade upgrade David said the only explanation for my behavior is I was shaping in sin I was born in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me see we are sinful by nature I have a granddaughter she's so five years old and the other day she was over to my house and she did something that my wife called her and the first thing she says I didn't do it she lied when nobody else in the room but her and my wife she had to do it see we are sinful by nature you don't have to teach your children to sin I know you think your children are wonderful and all that but baby let me tell you when you're not there they lie but I do anything because I know what I did soon as my mother left the room and said oh lord it's only cracking down baby my mother she used to beat me one time she gave me a beating she found out she was well I beat you for the stuff you got away with when I wasn't around I said that ain't right that ain't right that ain't fair don't beat me on credit beat me on cry I had to remember that I don't have to remember that but then David asked said God's creating me a clean heart see what's not there I don't have it by myself nobody said who can know the heart is desperately wicked he said creating me God a clean heart I need a change in my heart a change in my mind a change in my life and then he said renewing me a right spirit Lord make me better Lord bless me Lord give me a spiritual upgrade in my walk in my talk how I live my life see Lord I need to be better I'm thankful for where I am but I'm not satisfied to stay where Lord make me better for the kingdom better for my family better for my wife better for my children better for my neighbors better turn in your bibles if you will to first chronicles chapter four first chronicles chapter four we're gonna look at verse nine and 10 it says that J. Bass was more honorable than his brother and his mother called his name J. Bass saying because I bore him in sorrow and J. Bass called on the god of Israel saying oh that thou would bless me and bless me indeed and enlarge my coast and that thy hand might be with me your hand would be on me as that would keep me from evil that it may not grieve me it says and God granted him that which he requested so it says that J. Bass was more honorable than his brother J. Bass was a man of integrity I was looking on Facebook the other week and a young man he didn't proclaim to be saved he didn't proclaim to be a Christian he didn't claim anything but he says I have noticed in these last few years that people that say they are people of God and Christians they want to be righteous and they want to be ratchet that's what I said this is a young man and like I said he didn't profess to be saved he said they want to be ratchet I mean righteous and ratchet he said they want to be righteous and holy on Sunday but on Saturday night they won't drop it like it's hot and twerk all over the building see that cannot happen God said be ye holy for I am holy so either you are holy or you are ratchet you can't be saved and unsaved at the same time oxymoron thank you sir we might just take the oxy I would say that makes you a moron I'm sorry I'm not supposed to say stuff like that but out of a bad situation that J. Bass was born into the next thing he says and he was an honorable man that is amazing and so J. Bass was born into a difficult situation difficult birth his start was bad but the next thing he says about J. Bass is that J. Bass was a man a prayer because J. Bass called on the Lord so J. Bass prayed to the one and only true and living God of Israel not Buddha not Muhammad not Krishna but he prayed to the living God and he prayed oh that's our word bless me and bless me indeed somehow J. Bass knew I started out in a bad situation but God wants to bless me so I'm gonna ask God bless me and bless me indeed you need to ask God bless me God and bless me indeed not just a little bit but bless me indeed so the world will say wow bless me indeed and I'm paraphrasing he said that Lord calls my life to account for more than what it would have without you I tell people we have what I call the God factor that God is living in us and with us and he causes us to do things that we never could have accomplished without him we he causes us to do things that are by nature supernatural we didn't do it but he did it because but because he's with us he does it through us and we give God the glory he says in Lord my boundaries or the fear of my experience both in the natural realm and in the spiritual realm Lord increase my capacity to shine for you increase my ability for people to look at me and say you're one of those God men I've had that happen pretty much all my life from a teenager I went out one time witnessing and I knocked on the door and this lady opened up the door she fell back she said wow I see God all over you that's the Bible I said show you right not excited I said show you right but see what I'm saying is there is an aura about us when we belong to Jesus I can walk up and down the streets in overhauls raggedy clothes I wouldn't say my hair not comb but I ain't got no hair anymore my chin not comb and people will say good afternoon Reverend and I'm like we're in the world did they get that see that's God in us the hope of glory see the world is waiting to see God in you expecting to see God in you hoping to see God in somebody because that gives them hope I might be able to connect with this God and so we have the God factor he says Lord increase the fear the the the the the spirit of fear of my influence with people and then he said Lord keep your hands on me anoint me for your service it's something about the anointing of God that is extraordinary years ago one of the pastors at one of the churches I was at they sent they said brother Ross it was up in pastors and brother Ross we have a sister in Los Angeles that needs we need you to go and pray for her and so I said yeah okay no problem and my wife and I went to the hospital when I walked in the room pastor Bobby I said what in the world are they trying to do they sent me to pray for this woman and they're gonna say Ross went and pray for her and she died I didn't have no faith about nothing I knew not to speak against the Holy Ghost so I said Lord do whatever you do and do it quickly and then I said Lord pull her through I don't know what you're gonna pull her through to death or pull her through life but whatever you do you do it about a month later I was at church going around for offering and this one was she was and it's a huge church and she's waving calling my name I'm saying who is this brother Ross and I was and I'm smiling like I knew who she was but I have a clue who she was and I got next to her she said it's me remember you and your wife came and prayed for me I said oh my god I thought you died I didn't say it out loud but that's what I was thinking and she the Holy Ghost the anointing the anointing destroys the yoke the anointing opens the door the anointing will make a way out of nowhere the anointing will raise up somebody from the dead the anointing will heal bodies and he said keep your hand on me anoint me for service then he said keep me from evil in my words in my thoughts and in my deeds we have to ask the Lord you help me in what I say what I look at what I listen to what I speak how I behave when nobody is watching that's called integrity I remember one time the Lord was speaking to me he was trying to get me to get ready to do some things and he says now there's some things in your life you need to change and I'm going to give you time to change it he said and you can change it in front of the curtain or behind the curtain he said but make no mistake about it I will see to it that you change and I chose Pastor Bobby to get myself together behind the curtain see I had the Lord it embarrassed me a few times in front of the curtain in front of thousands of people and I said oh my God but Lord keep evil from me for my thoughts and cause me not to grieve the spirit of God that will cause grief to come into my life Wednesday night bishop he talked to us about when we miss it when we sin the chastising of the Lord he will chastise us for our benefit he we will put ourselves in a situation that will cause us to suffer the Bible said that the curse does not come without a cause it does not come without a reason so we get out there and we've been acting like wretched saints and the engine blew open our car and we want to cry oh Lord why me he just said shut up that's how I'm sorry that's how the Lord talks to me to most people he says be thou quiet and be thou still and know that I am the Lord and I will take you by the rivers of water and when he says shut up I don't want to hear it see because he knew I can deal with that the other step I'm like come on Lord you're getting soft on me now don't talk to me like now make me man up but much like J Bass we were born in a bad situation and we've had some bad things happening in our life and it seemed like we don't have a future we've been here long ago but God said I want to give you an increase I want to give you an increase I want to take you to another level I want to give you an upgrade I've been here long enough Lord I want to upgrade I cried long enough I walked the floor all night long love long enough I've been out here in the desert long enough but Lord now I'm looking for increase increase in my life increase when I'm doing increase in my home increase on my job look for increase say Lord say Lord make me holy Lord make me righteous Lord make me better I need increase I need an upgrade I need to go higher I need you in my life I need you to change some things I need you to bless me bless me indeed I found out can't nobody do you like Jesus can't nobody do me like the Lord can't nobody do me like Jesus because he's my friend and I've got a feeling that everything is going to be all right I've got a feeling he's going to bring me out I've got a feeling he wants to bless me so know that year 2020-24 this is a new season this is a new day I found out that my latter days will be better than my past tell somebody your latter days are going to be better than your past things are going to get better he's going to give you an upgrade and upgrades I found out I'm more than a conqueror I found the greatest he that's in me that he that's in the world I found out that I was born to win by the power of the holy ghost and now that I'm winning with the holy ghost I'm walking around with that holy ghost swag hey I like that oh yeah I'm bad in Jesus I got holy ghost swag because can't nobody do nothing to me because I belong to him and he's giving me an upgrade I asked him for that and he gave it to me upgrade and now I got that holy ghost swag hey tell somebody I got holy ghost swag yes indeed God has given me an update he's taking me higher he's making me better Jesus will give you a spiritual upgrade he will take you to the next level in the name of Jesus you were born to win in the spirit after the upgrade your life will never ever be the same God bless you now I want to ask you if you need a spiritual upgrade in any area of your life raise your hand I'm raising my hand because God has showed me there's some things where I need a upgrade from him it's not just about stuff some of us about my prayer life how I study the word of God how I live every day that I will shine to be a blessing to the world and if you raise your hand I'm gonna ask you to come down to the altar with me because I'm coming down to the altar because I need a spiritual upgrade it's time for a new beginning I'm gonna ask sister Tanisha if you will come and pray for us that God will take us higher take us deeper give us a spiritual upgrade in him I'm not going to live the way that I have been living but I want to do better and I can only do better if I allow him to give me an upgrade and take me take me to the next level now when she prays don't expect this to be business as usual because this is a new day and I'm doing some new things among my people it's a new season it's a new day it's a fresh anointing coming our way thank you father god hallelujah hallelujah we glorify you today lord we thank you for your word today we thank you for placing it in our hearts lord to want to do better and to be better we thank you lord god for your grace and your mercy god thank you for the upgrade in our life in 2024 that you're doing without offering anybody that we're watching us by live stream and you want to be baptized in jesus name and feel with the holy just call us and we'll make arrangements for it to happen is that one it's a new season I come with himself to say I give myself away because my life is not my own praise god praise god praise god thank you jesus thank you jesus the lord wants to hear from us and he wants to help us that's why he wants to hear from us just give yourself to me I want to talk about receiving the offering now amen elder Ross could you put your glasses on and read what this said across across the top right here that I wrote before I gotta got here to church no no here tis so sweet oh oh my goodness yes I wrote on top of this for the offering the song that said tis so sweet to trust in Jesus just to take him at his word just to rest upon his promise and just to know thus said the lord we have an assurance from god roman's chapter number eight verse 31 and 32 said what shall we then say to these things if god be for us if god be for us who can be against us he said I'm telling you you can rest and have peace in me everything everything that we have we got it from him he gave it he gave it freely and he says the liberal soul shall be made fat I want to be fat people want to die I want to be fat amen I want to be fat by Jesus come on somebody right verse 32 said he that spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all shall he not with him also freely give us all things I'm amazed if if god gave his only begotten son that's big time you know all I need is a little bit more grace to receive what god has to offer me if you can't believe it you can't have it thank you Jesus now that that's the message that the lord said today for the offering yes sir trust him trust him take him at his word and rest on his promise let us stand thank you Jesus dear so sweet to trust in Jesus just to take him at the things that you've blessed us with given to our store according to that that we receive from you help us oh god to trust you even more we thank you and praise you right now receive our offering as we bring it in Jesus name amen you may come oh and who received one of these all right somebody give the sites oh they got one all right all right the reason I have you holding this up is because the apostle said to the executive board put one of these in every one of your members hand and tell them to bring it with them when they come to the mid-winter all right right register registration what is it 25 registration is 20 dollars 20 dollars we spent more than that at at McDonald's this morning that was our snack it wasn't real meal all right so register and for those who are able and willing I believe sponsorship is what a hundred dollars that's all right I'm I'm still standing sponsor sponsorship is only a hundred dollars and so we invite you to support this winter convention uh supported in your presence and support it in your finances the lord will bless you and he'll give you more to give all right I'm gonna put you in the hands of minister Maryland amen and she's gonna she's gonna do what she does well she's gonna take us out in whatever the lord has has led her to do and I've just read this again I have to thank minister Maryland and elder Kevin Ross for doing the work that needed to be done they're part of the cabinet and the also told me I want all of the LA metro diocese contacted to make sure they're at the convention and I said to minister Maryland and elder Ross could you call the people and and they they called I'm I'm happy for them I thank you for being assistance that is needed to call this cause this convention to be successful praise the lord and registering our house minister Mila Knox will be teaching on worship and I want to hear what she got to say amen I'm gonna make myself available to the lord so he can do do greater works in me amen I'm gonna make myself available to the lord amen so he can bless me and put yourself in the position to be blessed amen you can have to put yourself if you want the blessing put yourself in the position to be blessed amen the winter convention is going to offer information to those of you that want to work in ministry amen and just want the information it's good information amen and if your schedule permits or you make your schedule to permit the lord will bless you and he'll bless you indeed amen so we hope to see you there let's amen